The Latest: China says Trump, Xi strike deal on trade talks

President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a working breakfast on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (all times local):

2:00 p.m.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Saturday to a new cease-fire in a year-long trade war between the two nations.

That’s according to the Xinhua Chinese state-run news agency. It says the two countries have agreed to reboot stalled trade talks and that the U.S. will hold off on threatened additional tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trump said earlier Saturday that the countries were “right back on track” and that he would be making an announcement on the results of his talks with Xi during an afternoon press conference.

U.S. officials had signaled that a restart in talks was the likely outcome of Trump’s meeting with Xi. The two leaders previously agreed to a truce at their last meeting in December to allow trade negotiations to continue, but talks broke down last month.

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1:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. and China are “right back on track” when it comes to reaching a deal on trade.

Trump is telling reporters that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “very, very good meeting” on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Japan that was better than expected.

And he says that, while negotiations are continuing, China will soon be releasing a statement and he will be addressing the issue at a news conference later Saturday.

The two countries have been at an impasse over trade after a breakdown in negations. But both sides had signaled a desire to de-escalate the year-long conflict despite.

Trump made the comments during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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1:40 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH’-jehp TY’-ihp UR’-doh-wahn) are looking at “solutions” to Turkey’s decision to buy a Russian air-defense system.

The purchase has been a sore point between the countries.

Trump suggested Saturday that the NATO ally’s treatment by the previous U.S. administration led Turkey to Russia.

U.S. officials are threatening economic sanctions if Turkey goes ahead with the Russian purchase. Turkey says the first shipments are expected in July. The U.S. has also warned the purchase would halt the sale of U.S.-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

President Donald Trump says he believes the U.S. and China can “do something” that will be “truly monumental” as he and China’s Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of a world leaders’ conference in Japan.

Trump is urging the Chinese leader to “even it up” on trade at start of talks on tariffs disputes.

And he says, “it would be historic” if the sides could reach “a fair trade deal.”

Both sides have signaled a desire to ratchet down a yearlong trade war that has battered U.S. farmers and global markets as they meet Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

Tensions rose in recent weeks after negotiations collapsed.

Xi mentioned the benefits of “ping pong” diplomacy as he opened his remarks, saying that, “Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation.”

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9:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he wants to inspect the heavily-fortified Korean demilitarized zone as an example of what a “real border” looks like.

Trump invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet him for a handshake at the DMZ. He praising the layers of barbed wire, mines and other security measures that form the armistice line between the two still-technically-warring Koreas.

Says Trump: “By the way, when you talk about a wall when you talk about a border, that’s what they call a border. Nobody goes through that border.”

He adds, “That’s called a real border.”

Trump made curtailing illegal immigration and building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border a central theme of his 2016 campaign, though he has struggled to fulfill his pledge.

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9:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump is praising his “friend” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for taking steps to open up the kingdom and extend freedoms to Saudi women.

The two are meeting over breakfast Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

Trump, however, ignored reporters’ questions about Mohammed’s alleged role in the killing last year of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. A U.N. expert has called for an investigation into Mohammed’s alleged involvement in the killing at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last year.

In a television interview before he left Washington, Trump brushed off calls for further inquiry by saying Khashoggi’s death has been heavily investigated. He said the Saudi promise to buy billions of U.S. military equipment “means something to me.”

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9:05 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he will visit the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea.

Says Trump of the inter-Korean demilitarized zone, “We’re going there.” Presidential trips to the area are generally conducted under the cloak of heavy secrecy and security, but Trump previewed his visit in a Saturday tweet suggesting that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un meet him there for a handshake.

Trump says of the invitation, “All I did is put out a feeler if you’d like to meet,” adding he’s not sure of Kim’s location. “I said if Chairman Kim would want I’d meet, I’ll be at the border.”

Trump said he and Kim “seem to get along, adding that, “If he’s there we’ll see each other for two minutes.”

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8:30 a.m.

A trade war between two economic titans faces a critical junction Saturday, when President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) meet as both are signaling a desire to de-escalate the yearlong conflict, yet seem unwilling to compromise.

The meeting is taking place on the sidelines of the international Group of 20 summit in Japan and is the centerpiece of four days of diplomacy for Trump.

The president’s reelection chances have been put at risk by the trade war that has both hurt U.S. farmers and battered global markets. Tensions rose in recent weeks when negotiations collapsed last month, as the two sides levied intensifying eye-for-an-eye punishments.

Trump struck a cautiously optimistic tone Friday, saying that “at a minimum” the meeting with Xi will be “productive.”

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